Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Could This Be The Best Album Of The Year?

Probably not...but it easily could become my favorite.

Al Green's "Lay It Down," executive produced by ?uestlove of The Roots, is an incredible record. It literally sounds like Rev. Green had the perfect record back in 1972, but then decided that he didn't really feel like releasing it. 32 years later, he listened to it again, and said "why didn't I release this? It's perfect!"

And it is. It is a perfect soul record. All vintage instrumentation, getting down with a Hammond B-3, horns, drums, guitar, bass, and some killer background singers (Anthony Hamilton singing backup for anyone is impressive). Add a very subtle hip-hop touch on the beats by ?uesto, and you've got one insanely great effort.

This isn't hyperbole, this isn't "Al Green released an old-sounding record--super hip!" This is genuinely one of his best albums, and top-to-bottom, is as good as his "Greatest Hits" album.